FUSE Educator Invited to State of the Union Address

Schaumburg teacher to join Rep. Tammy Duckworth in Washington, D.C.

January 22, 2014
| By Emily Osborne

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Inspired by a Northwestern University program on STEM education, U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) has invited a Schaumburg District 54 teacher to join her as her guest at the upcoming State of the Union address by President Barack Obama in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, Jan. 28.

Michelle Burke, a sponsor of the Jane Adams Jr. High School FUSE program, will accompany Duckworth – a strong supporter of the work that Burke has done on behalf of FUSE and STEM education.

“Representative Duckworth shared her passion and support of STEM education with students,” Burke said, “I feel honored to attend this event as a STEM educator.”

Developed by Northwestern’s School of Education and Social Policy, FUSE is a new kind of interest-driven learning experience that engages pre-teens and teens in science, technology, engineering, arts/design and mathematics (STEAM) topics. FUSE was developed by professors Kemi Jona and Reed Stevens and is offered through the Office of STEM Education Partnerships (OSEP) at Northwestern.

Burke was introduced to Duckworth this fall at the District 54 FUSE launch event that took place in Burke’s classroom.

“It was a great opportunity for our students to demonstrate the high level of engagement and excitement they were experiencing through the program and to show off the projects they were working on,” Burke said.

Each representative is allotted only one guest ticket per year. This is Burke’s first visit to Washington, D.C.